EU targets 30 percent cut in truck CO2 emissions by 2030: source

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union executive will propose at least a 30 percent reduction target for CO2 emissions from trucks by 2030, an EU source said on Monday, as the bloc seeks to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

The target will be the first ever CO2 standard for trucks in the EU, which has no limits on what accounts for almost one quarter of the bloc’s transport-related emissions.

Countries such as the United States, China, Japan and Canada have already set targets to reduce CO2 emissions from trucks.

Environmental campaigners alongside France and some other EU governments have pushed for an ambitious CO2 reduction target of at least 24 percent for 2025 and 34-45 percent for 2030.

The Commission will also propose an intermediary target of 15 percent and would introduce an incentive system of credits to reward manufacturers who invest more in low-carbon technologies, the source said.

Credits would be allowed to relax manufacturer’s annual CO2 targets for heavy duty vehicles by no more than 3 percent, while for buses, coaches and small lorries by 1.5 percent.

Europe’s Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has had a flurry of meetings with the auto industry and environment campaigners in the past four months that have led up to Thursday’s unveiling of the European Commission’s draft legislation.

Other EU Commissioners will vote on Wednesday to approve the proposal, which then needs to win the backing of national governments and the European Parliament.

A 30 percent target would cut about 54 million tonnes of CO2 from the bloc’s emissions from 2020 to 2030, or roughly the size of Sweden’s yearly output, according to the Commission’s estimates.

It argues that the benefits outweigh the technological cost of meeting the new CO2 standards, leading to lower fuel consumption, reduced transport company bills, job creation and a more competitive auto industry.

Europe’s powerful car industry lobbied this month for a 16 percent tail-pipe CO2 reduction between 2019 and 2030, with an intermediate target of 7 percent in 2025, the ACEA industry group said in a statement.

Thursday’s proposal to curb transport pollution is part of the bloc’s overall pledge to cut emissions by at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. It follows new draft rules on CO2 standards for cars.